After three years, it finally happened in my state. The medical cannabis bill that has lingered in committee since being introduced back in 2004 will go before the full senate and, perhaps, the full Illinois legislature sometime this session.

I applaud everyone who was involved and hope for the best as the bill progresses. It seems like the time may have finally come. Legislators anywhere would have to be blind not to see all the amazing medical advances being made in regard to cannabis (see my colleague Mary Jane Borden's look from last week's DrugSense Weekly feature article).

Here in Illinois, unfortunately, a few legislators do indeed appear to be blind, as the vote to get the bill out of committee was a narrow six to four in favor.

As with most state medical marijuana bills, there are limitations on who can benefit from the law. I am happy to see anyone who can benefit from cannabis be able to use the law, but there will be people who could benefit from cannabis who won't be able to use the law.

When it actually enters the legislative process, medical marijuana becomes more about scaling back the number of potential users, as opposed to broadening access. The legislators say they don't want the law abused, making the pool of people under possible protection smaller, even as science shows the pool of people who could benefit growing.

Take any other substance with the same medical potential, legislators would be clawing over each to get access to constituents, and to get development contracts in their states. The media would have new headlines every day about the Wonder Drug.

Sometimes, when government gets excited about a new drug, it even uses its power to induce citizens to take it.

For example, several states have been considering broad use of the HPV vaccine, which is designed to guard women against cervical cancer from the human papillomavirus. Since the vaccine is believed to be most effective before a woman becomes sexually active, advocates want mandatory vaccination at a relatively young age. Some legislators have bought into the idea, though not without intense and secretive lobbying by the firm which makes the vaccine (more news broke about the story in New York just today).

This is a relatively new medicine, yet some government officials want to use pre-teen female populations from entire states without exception to essentially serve as guinea pigs.

Cannabis, on the other hand, has been used for thousands of years. We know about the main effects and the side effects. Many who use cannabis medically and otherwise perceive few negative effects at all. We are only starting to understand how many different people might benefit from some type of cannabinoid therapy - there's no doubt the pool of potential beneficiaries will grow.

And yet, legislative officials who don't seem to know how to search the web for a few selections from a wide choice of medical journal articles, want to make sure that not too many people get it.

Again, some is better than none, and absolute prohibition remains ridiculous. I assume (and hope) as government loosens its grip on cannabis, it won't go to the other extreme and consider forcing citizens to take the miracle herb.

It should be, like other medical decisions, a matter of personal choice.

Newshawk: Please Help Keep DSW On Line www.drugsense.org/donate.htm
Pubdate: Fri, 9 Mar 2007
Source: DrugSense Weekly (DSW)
Section: Feature Article
Webpage: http://www.drugsense.org/dsw/2007/ds07.n490.html#sec6
Website: http://www.drugsense.org/current.htm
Author: Stephen Young
Note: Stephen Young is an editor with DrugSense Weekly.